


A Hunting (We Will Go)

by wakandan_wardog



Series: Moonrise In The Hallows [1]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: All Our Faves Anyway, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Because He's A Big Ass WereHyena, Even When He Can't Speak, Everybody Lives, Gen, Happy Halloween Have A Fic, Immortal Husbands Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, Kill The Bad Guys, Kill Those That Cross You, Love Is Knowing He's Sassing You, M/M, Magic, Slightly Murderous Characters, This Is A Fraction Of A Larger Story, Vampires, Were-Creatures, Who's In The Basement?, lykon lives, minor characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27235744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakandan_wardog/pseuds/wakandan_wardog
Summary: The Guard is a Shifter Pack, led by the fierce wolf Andy. Her fellow wolves Sebastian & Nile, along with the hyenas Lykon and Yusuf are fierce and far-ranging. To say nothing of the vampire, Nico, that is somehow one of them. When their youngest wolf goes missing, the Guard hunts down those responsible and will terminate them without hesitation. The fact that there's another prisoner being held in the basement probably isn't important...
Relationships: Andromache of Scythia & Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani & Nicky | Nicolo di Genova & Nile Freeman, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: Moonrise In The Hallows [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988542
Comments: 28
Kudos: 106





	A Hunting (We Will Go)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silvermadi (Orientation)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orientation/gifts).



Content to wait, Nicolò pressed himself into the shadow of the main gate, pale eyes narrowed as they fixed on the large picture windows of the mark’s office. All around him sprawled the night-drenched and shadow-strewn estate, quiet to his ears for the moment. He knew the guards would be making their rounds, but there was little likelihood that he and the others would make their move before moonrise. With nothing to do but wait, he settled into the pocket of deep dark and folded himself into the stillness that only children of the dark could manage. 

*

The shift was easy, tonight. The full moon was heavy overhead, demanding in its fullness. Brown eyes fixed on the glowing circle, Yusuf drew a deep breath and released it, the need to hunt singing in his veins. Soon. _Soon_. 

At Andromache’s nod, Yusuf cast off his cloak and stripped his clothes away, working quickly and efficiently to fold and bundle them into his cloak. He followed the example set by Andromache and Lykon, stashing their gear in a hollowed tree and hoping they’d be able to recover everything before Merrick’s personal guard came hunting for them. Ridiculous as it was, he was fond of the worn white tunic he was setting aside. Nico had a tendency to wear it when he slept over and the fabric was worn enough it was near transparent in any sort of light. 

But now was not the time for thoughts of Nico. Now the moon was calling, and it was almost time to hunt. Yusuf looked up at the moon and smiled, letting his eyes drift closed as he stopped fighting the shift. _Now_. Now. _To the hunt_. Sebastian already had a head start, and that just would not do. 

*

Moonlight pooling over him, Yusuf al-Kaysani slowly found his feet, sturdy and unwavering on four powerful paws. He drew a deep breath and shook himself from nose to tail, resettling his coat and crest from the disarray the shift had wrought. To his back and off to one side, he could hear the sounds of Lykon doing something similar, and up ahead he could see the shadow Andromache cast as she scaled the low stone wall that marked the rear boundary line of the estate. 

The proud black she-wolf didn’t even bother to give them a backward glance, flicking her tail in a summons and disappearing on the far side of the stone. Knowing she wouldn’t head to the mansion without them, Yusuf glanced back to Lykon with a curious tilt of his head. _‘Shall we?’_

_Somewhere, in the depths of the estate, Nico was waiting. Watching over their lost wolf pup, and the dead men walking that had stolen her._

The older hyena shifter gave a shrug and a dismissive shake, flashing Yusuf a grin and launching himself at the stone wall. Typical Lykon. He leapt up and over without issue, disappearing from sight with a soft chatter of amusement. Yusuf huffed an amused snort and followed, taking a flying leap and clearing the stone barrier without difficulty.

Landing nearly on top of Lykon on the far side of the wall, Yusuf gave a playful snap of his powerful jaws and surged into motion after Andromache, barely resisting the urge to sing out a hunting laugh as they galloped over the lawn and through the moon-soaked gardens. Tonight they would get their little wolf back, tonight Merrick and his men would die. 

It was now a good hour past moonrise, by Nico’s reckoning, and there was rain in the air. A heavy fog clung to the grounds of the Merrick estate, beading the garden and terrace in a fine tracery of dew drops. For his part, the vampire ignored the miserable weather, as still as any statue as he waited for the signal that was his cue to act. The mansion, to his great relief, stood silent; no sound of torture or cruelty occurring within. That alone gave him the patience to wait, to allow Andromache to call the shots in this. 

They all loved Nile, but she was Andy’s wolf. It was Andy’s mission unless something moved up their time table… Unless something made Nico act before the others arrived. 

_‘We’re coming, Nile,’_ He promised silently, tilting his chin up and ignoring the sudden rush of moisture down his spine. The mist still beaded his hair in a scattering of droplets, but a good amount of it was now soaking the line of his spine beneath his coat. Irrelevant, there was a chill sort of laughter on the breeze. 

_Yusuf. Lykon. Andy._

Nico grinned at the sound of haunting laughter with its echo of wolf song, flashing a glimpse of sharp fangs as he stepped out of the pool of shadows cast by the house’s back terrace. He moved at a gliding walk, pacing over the decorative rock path and halting at the entrance of the hedge maze. 

“ _Innamorato_?” He murmured, narrowing bright eyes as he searched the tangled path of the maze. “Yusuf?” 

A sudden shower of gravel skittered over his shoes, and he heaved a sigh, tilting his head to give the newly arrived shifter an unamused look. For his part, the spotted hyena gave a careless shake of his crested head and neck, flashing a grin composed of sharp white teeth. The glare his vampire boyfriend leveled on him didn’t seem to phase him in the slightest, rather amused him enough that he released a haunted, chattering laugh. 

“You are not as funny as you think you are,” Nicky argued, one pale hand lashing out and sinking into the shadow-spotted coat. “We _will_ talk about this later, Yusuf.” 

Nico gave a punishing yank at the handhold, but he couldn’t quite stifle his smile. 

For his part, Yusuf merely shrugged one shoulder and carelessly snapped his jaws at his love, then abruptly abandoned the posturing to lean heavily against Nico’s side. His shoulder aligned easily with the vampire’s hip, and Nico pressed back with silent affection, his grasping fingers flattening into a smooth press of palm splayed over his outside shoulder. The fact that the vampire felt the need to push him closer to that cool body, rather than away, made Yusuf grin all over again. But still, he leaned closer, ever closer. _‘My moon, my light.’_

“They are keeping her in the dungeon,” Nico murmured, idly twining his pale fingers in the shaggy dark line of hair that arced from Yusuf’s crest and curled over slightly toward his neck and shoulder. “Merrick and his pet just went up to the Master suite, not more than four guards in the basement. I picked the lock on the terrace doors, but they’re glass, to begin with. Try not to hurt yourself, _il mio sole_.” 

Yusuf chuffed in understanding and at some unheard signal moved forward, prowling toward the terrace stairs. Nico unwound his fingers and let the hyena move on ahead, drifting along in his wake. Once on the terrace, they parted ways, Yusuf stalking toward the unlocked doors and Nico skirting along the wrap-around porch toward the heavy front doors. 

“Nico,” Andromache breathed, the wooden door opening to reveal her tall slender form, spattered with blood and faint hints of mud. Her dark hair coiled and flowed around her, reaching to nearly her waist. “Nico.” 

“Here, Andromache,” Nicolò murmured, halting at the barrier of the doorway. Merrick was still alive, the magic that kept all vampires out remained. 

“Anything?” She asked, eyes distant just a moment ago now snapping to the present and fixing keenly on his face. 

“She is alive and unharmed,” Nico reports dutifully, ignoring the crash of glass and snapping wood indicating Yusuf just leaped through the terrace doors to surprise a patrolling guard. “In the basement. Merrick and Keane went up to the master suite, they won’t be there long now that my heart is wreaking havoc.” 

“Good enough,” Andromache shrugged, eyes still fiercely focused as she extended a genteel hand. 

Nicky caught it with his own pale fingers, exhaling and giving a sharp nod. Now the part he hates the most. 

Andromache’s voice went sharp, commanding. “Nicolò di Genova, son of Italy, blood sworn to me and mine. I bid you welcome to this home and grant you leave to walk these halls. You may enter.” 

Nico winced at the true naming and the way it made his ears pop as the magic took hold, but grinned fierce and fanged as he stepped forward and Andromache drifted back. Ever the actress and sometimes a gentlewoman, even nude and streaked with blood, she gave an excellent impression of the lady of the house as she gently tugged him through the doorway. The barrier gave, caught in the crossfire of a true-naming and welcoming magic, even though the one who granted it was not a member of the household. Pitted against that and Andromache’s iron will, the simple matter that Merrick was still alive (for now) was of little consequence. 

Nicolò di Genova was inside the house, the house that had stolen one of his wolves. He shot the Alpha a sharp grin and sketched a bow, pressing a kiss to her fingertips. “I think I shall take to hunting. By your leave, my lady?”

“Happy hunting,” Andromache laughed, gently pulling her fingertips from his grasp and shaking her head fondly at him. Her dark hair whispered around her, and a moment later where a nude woman had stood, there was only a black wolf with ice-colored eyes. 

“Happy hunting, Andromache,” Nico smiled. “I think I shall avail myself to the basement and see what is keeping our sweet little wolf.” 

The wolf who was Andromache flashed a canine grin, then turned her back on him and leapt into a silent run, bolting straight for the heavily carpeted stairs that led up to the master suite. She would take to distracting Keane and Merrick, likely with Lykon’s assistance before long. That would leave Yusuf to handle the rest of the guards in the house, and Sebastian to dispatch those left on the grounds. Which meant whatever was waiting in the basement was Nico’s responsibility. 

Gliding toward the heavy wooden door set into the base of the stairs, Nico took a moment to straighten the cuffs of his sleeves and then turned the knob. He took a deep breath of the cool air that rushed up to him, carding through the scents with a narrowing of his eyes. Four bodies and Nile, the heartbeats had told him. But now, by scent, a more precise picture was formed. Three guards, and Nile… And one other prisoner, a female that had been here for some time, he would guess. Her scent was nearly a part of the foundations, fury in every cell. 

_Interesting_. 

_I wonder who you are?_

“Into the dark, then” Nico murmured to himself, leaving the door wide so that Yusuf could follow at his leisure. “To save a little wolf, and unearth a secret.” 

Far above his head, there arose a clatter, the distant bark of a gunshot and the snarl of a wolf. Somewhere to his back the chattering laugh of hyenas dispatching their prey. If he strained his ears, he could almost make out the sound of snarls on the grounds, Booker’s own hunt well underway. The grounds would be soaked in blood well before dawn, but they would be long gone by then.

Let Merrick’s Estate stand as a reminder to not trifle with the Guard.

**Author's Note:**

> translations for Pet Names Nico used:  
>  _Innamorato_ \- Lover/Sweetheart  
>  _il mio sole_ \- My Sun
> 
> ~*~
> 
> So this ran away from me, like things do. (If you don't know, now you know.) But anyway, here's a little Halloween/Spooky Something for my favorite new fandom. Extra kisses for my sweet Madi, you are my light darling!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! 
> 
> ❤️ ~Toni


End file.
